Kentucky House approves bill to reduce emergency-trained workers in small coal mines

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — The Kentucky House voted Monday to allow the state’s smallest coal mining operations to reduce the number of miners with emergency medical training assigned for each underground shift.

In a state once known as a coal producing powerhouse, supporters said the measure is needed to help keep the smallest mining operations in business amid the industry’s downturn. The bill’s critics warned it would roll back an important safeguard enacted years ago following a Kentucky mining fatality.

“It truly troubles me to think that we could potentially be trading the safety of our coal mining families for what appears to be a nominal financial benefit, if anything at all,” said Democratic state Rep. Ashley Tackett Laferty, who represents a coal-producing region in eastern Kentucky.

The measure — House Bill 85 — passed the House on a 75-18 vote and goes to the Senate next. Republicans have supermajorities in both chambers.

The bill would cut in half the number of mine emergency technicians required to work when a shift has 15 or fewer miners. Two METs are currently required per shift, but the bill would reduce it to one.

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